TITLES AVAILABLE FROM STAGSPIRIT BOOKS

https://www.amazon.com/Arthur-History-Revised-August-Hunt/dp/1092772839

King Arthur dominates the mythic landscape of Britain, the Once and Future King who reigns in the psyche of the English and Welsh peoples. He is the “Shadow in the Mist” of British history and legends, glimpsed through numerous accounts, tales and place-names since his battles were first recorded in the 9th and 10th centuries in the ‘History of the Britons’ and the ‘Welsh Annals’. Cutting through centuries of arguments based on medieval romance and poetry, August Hunt presents a challenging and convincing argument for both the existence of a historical war-leader named Arthur and his presence on the borders of England and Scotland. He also examines and integrates the evidence for Irish influences in the tales and life of King Arthur. By thoroughly considering the place-names associated with Arthur’s battles and other significant sites such as towns and Roman forts, the author shows through onomastics, geography, archaeology and philology how they are all based on real historical places in northern England and southern Scotland. Not only this, but they also point to both the location of Camelot and to Arthur’s final resting place of Avalon. From this basis, the author explores traditional genealogies, chronicles, myths and folklore to present the possible identities of the important figures of Ambrosius, Cunedda and Vortigern, as well as that of the hero who was transformed into a mythic leader exemplifying chivalric ideals and the hope of national rebirth.

https://www.amazon.com/Mysteries-Avalon-Primer-Arthurian-Druidism/dp/1463691939

The Mysteries of Avalon is a unique and ground-breaking book which challenges many of the accepted views of the Arthurian tradition. From clues in old tales and documents, place-names and the mythic landscape, August Hunt weaves a tapestry of the Celtic gods and goddesses and of the Arthurian tales that heralds a new chapter in the interpretation of the deeds and existence of the greatest heroes of British legend - King Arthur and Merlin. Not only does the author place these figures in the British landscape, he also dispels many of the older inaccurate ideas about them and demonstrates which of their tales have been assimilated with other early sources to produce the popular images that exist today. By applying his wealth of knowledge and exploring the obscure and unresolved areas of the Arthurian tales, August Hunt provides new and provocative interpretations leading to startling conclusions about many subjects including the nature of Merlin, the dragon spirit of Britain, the real Holy Grail, the location of Avalon and the identities, human and divine, of the major characters in the Arthurian tales. Amongst these the author also focuses on the significant but often shadowy female figures of the myths like the Lady of the Lake, the mother of Arthur and the nine goddesses of Avalon. The quest for the hidden mysteries leads from Wales to Cornwall to Scotland, from Ireland to France to Italy, but most of all from the forgotten fragments of the past to the unfolding of the myths that dwell at the heart of the British psyche. The author includes fascinating appendices on a new interpretation of the Ogham alphabet and how to use it for divination, the symbolism and ritual uses of the Thirteen Treasures of Britain, and the zodiacal correspondences of King Arthur's battles.

https://www.amazon.com/Ceredig-son-Cunedda-Founding-Wessex/dp/1976431492

Cerdic of Wessex has long been recognized as the traditional founder of the English Kingdom of Wessex. While in the past scholars have been perplexed over the indisputably Celtic origin of the name Cerdic, Arthurian researcher August Hunt offers a solution to the problem: Cerdic is none other than Ceredig, son of Cunneda of Gwynedd in Wales. And not only was this war chieftain Celtic, he was either Irish or Hiberno-British! A commander of a federate or mercenary army – the Gewissei - he served the Welsh high-king in his wars against fellow Britons. Eventually the Gewissei formed an alliance with the Anglo-Saxons and may have ousted the Welsh high-king himself. Outlandish and controversial as these revelations may seem, Hunt’s argument is supported with real evidence derived from historical, archaeological and philological sources. This book presents us with a bold new look at early English history, and tells a fascinating story hitherto unknown.

https://www.amazon.com/Terrible-Ones-Horse-Revealing-Secrets/dp/1480087033

The study of Norse or Germanic mythology has long been the guarded province of scholars. Unfortunately, few breakthroughs in terms of new interpretations have been forthcoming in recent years. Neopagan groups referring to themselves as Asatruar, literally those who believe in the Aesir or “Gods”, have charted their own course in regards to deciphering the symbols and motifs found embedded in Norse myth, but these approaches, though admirable in intent, have often yielded wildly undisciplined or simplistic and naïve analyses. The present volume strives to achieve a “middle ground” between the severe strictures of academia and the ever-evolving and very individualistic belief systems of modern-day spiritual Vikings. It is with this goal in mind that the author presents thirty essays that he hopes will serve to fill the void in critical yet creative approaches to the unresolved problems posed by key elements of Norse myth.

https://www.amazon.com/New-Theory-Atlantis-Mythology-Archaeoastronomy/dp/1985796015

Few subjects generate more of a mixed sense of wonder and disdain than that of the Lost Continent of Atlantis. For centuries now, scholars and charlatans and “True Believers” have launched upon an Indiana Jones’-like quest to be the first to discover what Ignatius Donnelly in 1882 called the antediluvian world. The myth of Atlantis has evolved considerably since Plato’s time. It is now often thought of as a sort of high-tech or magical utopia, ruled over by super-sophisticated beings. Often the city or country of Atlantis is associated with aliens or ancient astronauts, UFOs, crop-circles, imaginary planets and the like. Psychics such as Edgar Cayce, J. Z. Knight and Gordon Michael Scallion have weighed in, and national or ethnic pride has encouraged many a patriotic pseudo-scientist to “find” this sunken land pretty much everywhere and anywhere. So silly has become the study of Atlantis that professional academics now inevitably choose to shun the topic entirely, rather than have their reputations tarnished by the stigma of New Age nonsense that drowns the Lost Continent just as surely as the sea did all those millennia ago. This is a shame, of course, for certainly Plato’s account is worth examining critically and objectively. In this book, author August Hunt presents a logical analysis of Plato’s story. Boring though logic can be, if logical fallacies can be avoided, a person has a fighting chance to obtain a workable hypothesis. And, sometimes, especially when dealing with arcane matters for which little or no evidence exists, a workable hypothesis is all one can really hope for.

https://www.amazon.com/Christ-Revelation-Decoding-Testament-Symbolism/dp/1494962659

In this slender volume the author seeks to decipher the REAL meaning of Christianity, as opposed to the literalist approach which fails utterly to delve into the obvious symbolic nature of the religion. Belief always clouds judgment, and so August Hunt starts from an avowed stance of agnosticism. Over the course of his life he has witnessed one after another “authority” offer ridiculous interpretations of the Christ story and its culmination in the book of Revelation. These interpretations were based, of course, on a combination of ignorance, subjectivism and the inability to critically analyze intentionally encrypted texts.In truth, there is not much about early Christianity that is genuinely mysterious. Certainly, generations of Christians and theologians have done their best to hide the original meaning of the religion. And they have succeeded so well at their efforts that the underlying significance of Christianity has been completely forgotten, even among the initiate. In place of this meaning is a monstrosity, a perversion if you will, that has taken on a tragic life of its own. It bears little resemblance to the cosmic message residing beneath the layer of symbolic language. And this false faith has been defended to the death for thousands of years now. While the author does not expect to change anyone’s mind, and knows that his work will either draw fire from certain quarters or even be ignored, he would rest content knowing that those who are more susceptible to reasonable conjecture may find something of value in a balanced presentation of New Testament “cryptography”.

https://www.amazon.com/Real-Moses-His-God/dp/1463694350

Moses and the religious revolution he instituted in the Sinai have long fascinated theologians, archaeologists and the general public. Countless theories have been proposed seeking to identify the founder of Judaism with known historical personages. His god has likewise been subjected to a great deal of speculation. But none of the candidates for this most enigmatic of Old Testament heroes have stood the test of time and scholarly scrutiny. Nor have countless studies done much to add significantly to our understanding of the nascent Yahweh cult. In this controversial study, August Hunt makes his case for the first historically plausible Moses. At the same time, he reinterprets the events leading up to and including the Theophany from a syncretic Egyptian-Hebraic standpoint. This process yields a startling discovery on the very nature and significance of the divine being who became God for much of the Western world. Two appendices reveal the actual locations of the Garden of Eden and the mountain of Noah's ark.

GERONTIUS THE MAGISTER UTRIUSQUE MILITIAE AND UTHER PENDRAGON: IS THE GALFRIDIAN DESCENT OF ARTHUR CORRECT AFTER ALL?

A few years ago (!), I first broached the following idea on my blog site.  I later dispensed with the notion - so much so, in fact, that I deleted the entire piece.  My readers may wish to read it here now, as long as they understand the reason I'm resurrecting it: this time around, there may be a way to actually make it work...

***

UTHER PENDRAGON: THE MAGISTER UTRIUSQUE MILITIAE AGITIUS?

Flavius Aetius

In Gildas's THE RUIN OF BRITAIN, the Britons, after being left to their own devices by the Romans, ask for help one last time.  The person they address their plea to is called Agitius. Most scholars believe this Agitius to be Aetius (391-454 A.D.), and not Aegidius.  However, the latter died in (probably) 465.

For some reason, the Roman title of magister utriusque militiae ("master of both services, i.e. horse and foot") flashed across my mind's eye.  Both Aetius and Aegidius had held this rank.  The following on Aegidius is from The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume 2, AD 395-527 by Arnold Hugh Martin Jones and J. R. Martindale:

What I'm proposing for consideration is simply this:  Uthr is not from the Welsh word uthr/uthyr, but is instead a substitution for Latin uter, the root of utriusque, itself from the genitive masc./fem./neut. uterque (uter + -que).  Pendragon (= "chief leader/warrior" or chief of warriors; see Marged Haycock's note to the epithet in her version of MARWNAT VTHYR PEN) would then be for the magister...militiae (cf. magister militum).  Linguistically, we cannot derive Uther from uter.  But, the utriusque title at some point may have been mistakenly related to the Welsh word uthr. This would have been a simple process of folk etymology.  Note that in early Latin writings (e.g. in the gloss on Arthur's name in the HISTORIA BRITTONUM) uth(e)r is spelled uter.  

magister      utriusque      militiae

pen              uther             dragon

I have had this from Professor Doctor Peter Schrijver, Departementshoofd Talen, Literatuur & Communicatie, Keltische Talen en Cultuur,  Departement Talen, Literatuur en Communicatie, Universiteit Utrecht, on my idea:

"That’s very inventive. Strictly linguistically, I would have expected utrius to have become W *Ydr, not Uthr, so that does not work. The alternative would be that this is early folk etymology: utrius(que) simply looks like British *üthr, so they were identified."

Agitius - whoever he was - is asked for help by the Britons, but no help is received.  In Geoffrey of Monmouth's "history", the Britons seek the same aid and also have it refused.  Then they try asking for assistance from their brethern in Brittany (a part of the Gaul over which Aegidius was MVM).  The king of Brittany sends Constantine, father of Uther.

Note that Aegidius may have died of poison - as did Uther, according to the Galfridian tradition.

***

So there it is - the idea that Uther Pendragon may, in fact, derive from an important Roman rank/title, viz. MVM or magister utriusque militiae.

The problem at the time was that I was unaware of an important fact: there was a famous British general of the time of Constantine III and Constans named Gerontius.  And he, too, was a MVM or 'magister utriusque militiae!'  This is confirmed by numerous scholarly sources, including the ultimate source on such things, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume 2, AD 395-527:

https://books.google.com/books?id=G5W6vCO_pYUC&pg=PA508&lpg=PA508&dq=gerontius+MVM&source=bl&ots=8l-FeeiwuG&sig=ACfU3U1Wu1Ee5nxLFuaHgzCndCRlq6UkPg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiw29O0j9DrAhUvHzQIHasVDW0Q6AEwA3oECAcQAQ#v=onepage&q=gerontius%20MVM&f=false

See also https://books.google.com/books?id=Ho7mDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA111&lpg=PA111&dq=%22Gerontius%22%2B%22utriusque%22&source=bl&ots=8x9BQZB9TZ&sig=ACfU3U3AzpeMJ_N6mXzZ-IATIOH2V2md_Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiG4bye34rtAhWEu54KHZe0B0kQ6AEwAnoECAIQAg#v=onepage&q=%22Gerontius%22%2B%22utriusque%22&f=false

The Fragmentary Latin Histories of Late Antiquity (AD 300-620): Edition, Translation and Commentary, Cambridge University Press, May 31, 2020

And Gerontius, Magister utriusque

militiae of Constantine III

and Maximus.

407-411 Brit. Seeck, RE 7.1270 s.v.

Gerontius (6); PLRE II

(5)

from

http://www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/ifa/zpe/downloads/1994/100pdf/100145.pdf

It makes some sense to see in Uther Pendragon the MVM Gerontius.  For in Geoffrey of Monmouth's THE HISTORY OF THE KINGS OF BRITAIN, Uther, Constans and Ambrosius are all made sons of Constantine.  I have elsewhere shown that Ambrosius was a contemporary of Constans I (see https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/05/why-ambrosius-aurelianus-was-put-in.html). Constans II was named after the first Constans and so the two could easily have become confused in the folk tradition.  

The name Gerontius occurs in the early Dumnonian pedigree as Geraint.  Scholars think there may have been a few such men in the region.  In the Arthurian pedigree, a Geraint is found either as a brother of Uther and son of Constantine (see https://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/cybi1.html and https://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/cybi2.html) or as a cousin of Arthur.  Here is the section of Erbin, variously son or father of Geraint, from P. C. Bartrum's A CLASSICAL WELSH DICTIONARY:

"ERBIN ap CUSTENNIN GORNEU. (440) He is frequently mentioned as the father of Geraint, but little is said of Erbin himself. In the Life of St.Cybi he is mentioned as the father of Selyf the father of Cybi, but is made the son, instead of the father, of Geraint (§1 in VSB p.234, EWGT p.27). A.W.Wade-Evans accepted the version of the Life of St.Cybi (WCO pp.103, 183, VSB p.xii) but “the evidence of all other early and medieval sources is in favour of Gereint mab Erbin as the correct order of the names” (TYP p.358 n.1). According to Bonedd y Saint he was the son of Custennin Gorneu and father of Geraint (§§ 26, 27, 76) Erbin, and his family are fundamentally associated with Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. In the tale of ‘Geraint and Enid’ the father of Geraint is called Erbin ap Custennin (WM 409, 412, RM 263, 266). The tale was based by a Welsh redactor on the romance, Erec et Enide, by Chrétien de Troyes, but in order to adapt to Welsh taste he substituted Geraint ab Erbin for Erec son of king Lac, and Erbin ap Custennin for king Lac. We cannot, therefore, accept what the Welsh version says of Geraint ab Erbin as genuine tradition, except perhaps insofar as it departs from the version of Chrétien. On these grounds we may suppose that there is some basis in the statement that when Geraint returned to the kingdom of his father, Erbin ap Custennin, ‘they went [from Caerleon-on-Usk] towards the Severn, and on the far side of the Severn were the best men of Erbin ap Custennin’ (WM 412, RM 266). This implies that the dominions of Erbin were in Somerset. In ‘Erec et Enide’ king Lac was residing in a town named Carnant, ‘four long days' journey over hills and slopes, through forests, plains and streams’ from Cardigan. The change is significant. We are further told that Erbin was uncle to Arthur (WM 409,RM 263) implying that Erbin ap Custennin was brother to Uthr ap Custennin. In Bonedd y Saint §73 (EWGT p.65) Erbin is listed as a saint and brother of Digain the saint of Llangernyw in Rhos, Gwynedd. Erbin is said to be the saint of Erbistock on the Dee in Maelor (PW 105, WCO 203). These two places are about 35 miles apart although they are far enough from the native land of their patrons. The Welsh Calendars give January 13 and May 29 as Erbin's festival, many of them giving both dates (LBS I.70, 72, II 459). There is a place called Treverbyn about three miles north of St.Austell in Cornwall, also a Treverven. St.Ervan, three miles south-south-west of Padstow, may be named from Erbin, but see s.n. Erme. St.Erven is honoured in three places in the Morbihan in Brittany (G.H.Doble, Saint Hermes, Cornish Saints Series No.35, pp.19-20). Eruen is one of the four saints of Llangwm, Gwent (BLD 274, PW 81)."  

Wade-Evans' discussion of Erbin as son, not father, of Geraint may be found here:

https://books.google.com/books?id=gZxFAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA99&lpg=PA99&dq=%22erbin+son+of+geraint%22&source=bl&ots=TvrnJwmc25&sig=ACfU3U2PKlv8UHGlDSXQQqanus_JGOaXGg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiVx4-O0bzrAhUVHjQIHaolD-MQ6AEwA3oECAYQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22erbin%20son%20of%20geraint%22&f=false

Now, if the St. Cybi VITA is right and Geraint was a son of Constantine, this would pair well with Uther as the son of the same man.  We might reasonably wonder if Geraint and Uther were not, originally, the same personage.  Can we make a case for Geraint = Uther Pendragon/magister utriusque militiae?

Well, nothing can be proven, of course.  And we have to ask ourselves which Geraint is intended as Arthur's father.  The famous general is too early (d. 411).  So we would be looking at a later Geraint in Dumnonia.  There is some slight evidence for such.  The following entries on the Geraints is again drawn from Bartrum:

"GERAINT (GERENNIUS), of Cornwall.A king of Cornwall mentioned in the Life of St.Teilo in the Book of Llandaf. It tells that duringthe ravages of the Yellow Plague in Britain (see Y Fad Felen) Teilo was advised by an angel to go toArmorica. He came first to Cornubia [Cornwall] and was well received by Gerennius, king of thatcountry. At the king's request Teilo received his confession and promised that the king ‘would not seedeath until he had received the Body of the Lord which he [Teilo] himself would have consecrated.’Teilo then proceeded to Armorica (BLD 108).While in Armorica Teilo became aware that Gerennius was very sick and about to die. In orderto keep his promise to Gerennius, he returned to Britain, having completed seven years and sevenmonths in Armorica. He and his party arrived at the harbour of Din Gerein and found the king still alive.The king received the sacrament and ‘joyfully departed to the Lord.’ His body was buried in a vastsarcophagus which had been miraculously transported across the sea from Armorica (BLD 113-4).If we accept the story the date of death of Gerennius must be put about seven years after thebeginning of the Yellow Plague in Britain, [547], i.e. about 554.There is a church and parish of Gerrans near Falmouth in Cornwall, the dedication beingpresumably to this Gerennius. The date of celebration being August 10 (LBS III.52). It is called Ecclesiade Sancto Gerendo (1294) and Seynt Gerent (1360) (G.H.Doble, The Saints of Cornwall, III.81). Thereis a Kill-Gerran in St.Anthony in Roseland (LBS III.51), Killagerran (Doble p.81). Sancte Geronte(vocative) is mentioned with SS.Petrocus and Kyeranus [Piran] and Cadocus in the Exeter Litany(Harleian MS.863) printed by the Henry Bradshaw Society at the end of the Leofric Collectar. Seefacs.XVI (Doble p.80).According to the Martyrology of Exeter S.Buriana (q.v.) cured a son of king Gerentius ofparalysis. It is evidently this king who is referred to (Doble p.80).The following is from Popular Romances of the West of England, collected and edited by RobertHunt, F.R.S., Third edition, London, 1881, p.459:SAINT GERENNIUS.The beacon at Veryan stands on the highest ground in Roseland, at a short distance from thecliff which overlooks Pendower and Gerrans Bay. ... The present height of this tumulus above thelevel of the field in which it stands is 28 feet, and its circumference at the base 350 ft. ...A tradition has been preserved in the neighbourhood that Gerennius, an old Cornish saint andking, whose palace stood on the other side of Gerrans Bay, between Trewithian and the sea, wasburied in this mound many centuries ago, and that a golden boat with silver oars were used inconveying his corpse across the bay, and were interred with him.The name Din Gerein, found in the Life of Teilo, was given to a mound in the Parish of Gerransby Dr. John Whitaker in 1804. There is no earlier authority for the identification. Dr.Whitaker is alsoresponsible for the story of the burial of Gerennius at Carne Beacon (Ancient Cathedral of Cornwall,I.302; G.H.Doble, S. Gerent, Cornish Saints Series No.41, p.18). Carne Beacon is a mile south of Veryan."

"GERAINT (GERUNTIUS), king of Dumnonia.The last independent king of Dumnonia. He appears to have been an able prince and to havewielded considerable power, as we learn from a letter addressed to him in the year 705, by bishopAldhelm, a relation of Ina, king of Wessex. Aldhelm calls him Geruntius. For the text of the letter see A WELSH CLASSICAL DICTIONARY311Migne, Patr. Lat., lxxxix p.87; Haddan and Stubbs, Councils, III.268. See also WCO 282-3. He is calledGerent, Weala cyning, in a twelfth century addition to the Parker Chronicle and in the later manuscriptsof the Saxon Chronicle under the year 710. (G.H.Doble, The Saints of Cornwall, III.85). The entry is‘Ina also, and Nun his relative, fought with Gerent, king of the Welsh’.There is a poem in the Black Book of Carmarthen (BBC 71.11) and in the Red Book of Hergest(RBP col.1042) which tells of a battle fought at a place called Llongborth by a chieftain named Gereint.It is very tempting to suppose that Llongborth is Langport in Somerset, twelve miles east of Taunton,and that Gereint is the Geruntius of Aldhelm and the Gerent of the ASC. But there are two difficulties:(1) the title of the poem is Gereint fil' Erbin, and (2) the mention of Arthur in stanza 8. Both of thesewould suggest that the poem refers to an Arthurian context, because Geraint ab Erbin is well known as acharacter in Arthurian legend. As regards (1) it may be pointed out that the name Erbin does not appearin the text of the poem, so that it could have been added by a scribe under a misapprehension. Withrespect to (2) Arthur and his men may be regarded as appearing from the Otherworld like the Greek godsin the Iliad, to fight on the side of this Geraint. Similarly the Welsh poet Cynddelw mentions thepresence of St.Tysilio at the battle of Cogwy or Maserfelth in the year 642. See s.n. Tysilio. Thisinterpretation was suggested by John Rhys (CB pp.234-5) and approved by E.K.Chambers (Arthur ofBritain, 1927, p.66), and Thomas Jones (BBCS 58 p.247 (1958)). See further s.n. Llongborth.The poem is discussed by Brynley F. Roberts in Astudiaethau ar yr Hengerdd, ed. by RachelBromwich and R. Brinley Jones, 1978, chapter 12.For modern translations of the poem see Gwyn Williams, The Burning Tree, 1956, pp.43-45,Joseph P. Clancy, The Earliest Welsh Poetry, 1970, pp.103-5. The following stanzas nos.1 and 4 aretypical while the two crucial stanzas are nos.8 and 9:1 Before Gereint, the enemy's punisher,I saw white stallions with red shins,and after the war-cry a bitter grave.4 At Llongborth I saw vulturesand more than many a bierand men red before Gereint's onrush.8 At Llongborth I saw Arthur,brave men hewed with steel;[He was] emperor, ruler of battle.9 At Llongborth Gereint was slain,[and] brave men from the border of Diwneint [Dyfnaint = Devon];And ere they were slain they slew.It may be noted that a stanza in the above poem, missing in the BBC text and no.2 in the RBPtext, is without the last line. This last line appears as Gelyn i Seis, câr i seint, ‘Foe to the English, friendof the saints’ in Peniarth MS.111 (c.1600). (Jenny Rowland, Early Welsh Saga Poetry, 1990, p.242; E.Phillimore in Cy. 7 (1886) p.122). Compare Geraint ab Erbin.A king Geren is mentioned in the newly discovered (1912) Life of St.Turiau of Dol. Here we aretold (Ch.9) that Geren was a friend of Turiau, beyond the sea. When Geren died Turiau saw his soulbeing carried away by angels but surrounded by malignant spirits. He bade the clergy and people aroundhim to pray for his friend, whereat the demons were driven away (G.H.Doble, The Saints of Cornwall,III.78-9). The Life is said to have been written c.850 (ibid. p.80). Turiau seems to have lived c.700, andas Geren is given as his contemporary, he may be the Geraint of this article (ibid., pp.83-4). Turiau wassixth bishop of Dol. G.H.Doble thought that parts of the story about Gerennius in the Book of Llandaf[see s.n. Geraint (Gerennius)] are based on what is said about Geren in the Life of St.Turiau (G.H.Doble,St.Teilo, Welsh Saints Series No.3, pp.22-3)."

"GERAINT ab ERBIN. (Legendary). (470)In the Life of St.Cybi it is said that Cybi was ex regione Cornubiorum, being born between therivers Tamar and Limar, cuius pater Salomon fuit, Erbin filius, filius Gereint, filius Lud (§1 in VSBp.234, EWGT p.27).This is the only authority which makes Erbin son, rather than father, of Geraint. On the otherhand it is the earliest authority to mention Geraint and Erbin. In view of the persistence of laterauthorities in representing Geraint as the son of Erbin, it seems that we must suppose an error in theabove pedigree. We may, however, accept that Selyf [Salomon], the father of Cybi, was the son of Erbinand not the son of Geraint as later authorities state. See Selyf ab Erbin.There is a poem in the Black Book of Carmarthen and in the Red Book of Hergest whichmentions Geraint at a battle at Llongborth. The title, which may be a later addition, calls him Gereint fil'Erbin. But it seems probable that he was a later Geraint. See s.n. Geraint (Geruntius) king of Dumnonia.Gereint mab Erbin is mentioned in the tale of ‘Culhwch and Olwen’ as one of the warriors ofArthur's Court (WM 462, RM 107) and as the father of Cadwy (WM 460, RM 106). He is alsomentioned in the tale ‘Rhonabwy's Dream’ as Gereint the father of [C]Adwy (RM 159). He is againmentioned in a triad (TYP no.14) as one of the ‘Three Seafarers’ of Ynys Prydain. He appears as thefather of Cado [Cadwy] and the son of Erbin in a pedigree in Jesus College MS.20 (JC §10 in EWGTp.45). In Bonedd y Saint he is mentioned as the father of Selyf [see remarks above], Iestyn, Cyngar andCadwy (§§26, 76) and in §76 his wife is said to have been Gwyar ferch Amlawdd Wledig.The tale of ‘Geraint and Enid’ in WM and RM is based on the French romance of Erec et Enideby Chrétien de Troyes. The Welsh redactor substituted the name Geraint ab Erbin for Erec son of kingLac, and directly took over the name Enid for his wife. We cannot accept what is said of Geraint in thisstory as genuine Welsh tradition. On the other hand the Welsh redactor departed from his source attimes, and evidently made use of his knowledge of Welsh lore. In such cases we may therefore take afew hints as to certain Welsh traditions concerning Geraint. We may, for example, suppose that Geraintleft Arthur's Court at the request of his father Erbin, in order to rule the dominions of his father who wasgetting old (WM 409-10, RM 263-4); and that these dominions bordered on the left bank of the Severn(WM 412, RM 266). This agrees with the fact that we find Geraint's son Cadwy ruling in Somerset. Alsothat Geraint was cousin to Arthur (WM 438, RM 285), Erbin being Arthur's uncle (WM 409, RM 263).This is in agreement with the usual pedigree of Erbin (q.v.).Gereint ab Erbin is credited with a proverb in ‘Englynion y Clyweid’ in Llanstephan MS.27(No.21, ed. BBCS 3 p.11): ‘Short-lived is the hater of the Saints’. This is reminiscent of a line in a lateversion of the ‘Llongborth’ poem where Geraint is described as ‘Friend of the Saints’. See s.n. Geraint(Geruntius), king of Dumnonia.GEOFFREY OF MONMOUTHHRB speaks of Guerinus Carnotensis (G. of Chartres) as being present at Arthur's specialcoronation and bringing with him twelve peers of Gaul (IX.12). This becomes Gereint Carnwys, or thelike in ByB. The twelve peers who came with Guerinus Carnotensis are again mentioned in IX.19. Thereis nothing corresponding in Brut Dingestow, but the ‘Cleopatra’ version here calls him Gereint vabErbin. Guerinus Carnotensis took part in Arthur's wars against the Romans Lucius and Leo (X.4, 6, 9).In all these cases ByB in ‘Dingestow’ and ‘Cleopatra’ has Gereint Carnwys."

And a nice summary on these Dumnonian Geraints as drawn from John Koch's (ed.) CELTIC CULTURE: A HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA:

"Geraint fab Erbin was a Welsh legendary hero,

probably based on a historical figure, though the

identity of this source is uncertain and a composite

possible. The best documented historical Geraints were

(1) Gerontius, the British-born general of Constantine

III who was declared emperor by the Romano-

British garrison and ruled Britain, Gaul, and Spain

from 407 to 411, and (2) the king Gerontius or

Geruntius of Dumnonia, to whom a letter was written

by Aldhelm in 705; (2) is called Gerent in later

sources. If they have any historical basis, the Arthurian

associations of the literary Geraint would better suit a

period between these two (Sims-Williams, Arthur of

the Welsh 46–7). There is a hero called ‘Geraint from

the southern region’ in the Gododdin, possibly

composed in the later 6th century. A King Gerennius

of Cornubia (i.e. Cornwall/Kernow) is mentioned

in the Welsh Latin Life of St Teilo, and he would

belong notionally to the period c. 500. In the Life of

St Cybi, Gereint is said to have been the greatgrandfather

of the saint. However, the fact that Erbin

figures there as Gereint’s son, not his father as usual,

suggests that this was a sloppy mishandling of

genealogies. Although Gerontius is attested in late

Roman Britain and Gereint becomes common in genealogies

of the Middle Welsh period (cf. Cunomor),

and Geraint is very common in present-day Wales, the

name is not common in Old Welsh, Old Breton, or

Old Cornish sources."

Arthur is brought into close connection with a Geraint in the early Welsh elegy to that Dumnonian king.  While the reading of the text is difficult and still somewhat controversial, Nerys Ann Jones (ARTHUR IN EARLY WELSH POETRY) has presented the best possible interpretation of the problematic lines:

In Llongporth were slain brave warriors belonging to Arthur, they hewed with steel...

In Llongporth were slain brave warriors belonging to Geraint from the region of Dyfnaint...

In the same poem, Arthur is praised as "emperor, leader of battle."

Most scholars hold to the view that this Llongporth battle conforms to that found in the ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE under the year entry 710 A.D. John Koch in his CELTIC CULTURE: A HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA describes the probable location of this battle:

"The location of the battle of Llongborth and its historicity are also in doubt. Possibly Langport, Somerset, England, is meant, or some miscellaneous llongborth ‘ship harbour’; cf. Irish longphort used for Viking encampments. The late John Morris’s proposal that Llongborth was Portsmouth/Portchester [site of an ASC battle c. 501 A.D.] has found little subsequent support."

Clearly, if the 8th century battle is intended, Arthur's name is either a gross anachronism or Geraint is being referred to as 'the Arthur' in a metaphorical sense.  Part of the translation problem of the relevant stanzas is the /y/ fronting both Arthur's and Geraint's names.  In other words, it may be better to render the above lines as

In Llongporth were slain brave warriors of the Arthur, they hewed with steel...

In Llongporth were slain brave warriors of the Geraint from the region of Dyfnaint...

Geraint or Gerontius is from the Greek stem geron, meaning 'old man (see http://www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/ifa/zpe/downloads/1994/100pdf/100145.pdf).'

On the other hand, if Arthur really is to be paired with Geraint in this battle, the action would have to be moved back to the 5th-6th centuries.

There is yet another possible reason why Arthur is found in the Geraint poem on the Battle of Llongporth.  In 658 A.D., according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Cenwalh battled the Welsh at Penselwood in Somerset and drove them to the River Parrett. It cannot be a coincidence that Langport lies on the Parrett.  A Geraint is mentioned as fighting Ine and Nunna in 710, but the location is not given.

Notice that directly between Penselwood and Langport lies South Cadbury, site of the famous Cadbury Castle hillfort that traditionally has been associated with Arthur.  The River Cam at South Cadbury is a tributary of the Yeo and becomes the Parrett at Langport. 

If a Geraint fought here, then we may have some evidence that his fortress was Cadbury Castle.  Geraint had a son named Cadwy and I've elsewhere written about this name and its connection to the various Cadbury forts (see https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2019/12/cadburys-and-personal-name-badda.html).

Does any of this help us determine with any certainty whether a Geraint may have been the real father of Arthur?  Alas, no.  It is merely suggestive.  We would have to be able to 1) prove that Uther Pendragon stands for magister utriusque militiae and 2) determine with certainty that a King Geraint existed at the right time in SW England. Then and only then might we be able to more or less confirm the traditional family descent of Arthur. 

A NOTE ON UTHER AND VICTOR

In her addition of the Marwnat Vthyr Pen, Haycock has:

11 am Wythur On the personal name Gwythur, see §15.31. Am ‘for, around’,

perhaps here meaning that the speaker was in Gwythur’s entourage.

This not is for the line -

Neur ordyfneis-i waet am Wythur,

I was used to blood[shed] around Gwythur,

Gwythur (or Gwythyr) cannot be for anything other than the Latin/Roman name Victor (Dr. Simon Rodway, private correspondence).  This being so, it can't be Flavius Victor, the usurping British emperor of who died in 388 A.D.  But if we want a Victor who was 5th century, and who could have been associated with a Geraint of Dumnonia, we have a record of such a man.

Scholars believe that a Dumnonian Geraint may well have held sway over not only Cornwall and Devon, but over the Domnonee in Brittany as well.  If he did, this would remind us that Geoffrey of Monmouth has Uther come to Britain from Brittany.  

There was Dark Age Withur of Leon in Brittany.  Leon was in the westernmost part of Domnonee (see John Koch in CELTIC CULTURE: A HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA).  We learn of this 'Victor' from the VITA of St. Paul Aurelian of Leon.  Here is the relevant section from P.C. Bartrum's A CLASSICAL WELSH DICTIONARY:

15. Paul learnt that the lord of the land was Withur. He came to the city (oppidum) which is now called by his name [i.e. Saint-Pol-de-Léon].

16. Paul came to Battham insulam [Isle of Batz] where Withur often came for quietude.

17. Paul met Count Withur who was his cousin.

18. Paul spent the rest of his days in that island and in the oppidum [St.Pol-de-Léon].

19. Withur and the people wished to make Paul bishop, but knowing that he would object,

and perhaps leave, decided on the stratagem of sending Paul to king Philibert [Childebert, 511-558], secretly asking him to have him made bishop, even against his will. So he was consecrated by three bishops.

15. Withur was probably a very local ‘lord’ (PCB). The name = Victor (Doble p.49), Welsh Gwythur or Gwythyr. 

Of course, we must be careful here; Geoffrey of Monmouth brings Uther into the orbit of the Breton chieftain Budicius.  This name has as its root Celtic *boudi-, 'victory', from*boudīko-, 'victorious.'  Thus it is possible that Victor and Budicius were, initially, one and the same person. 

THE DUMNONIAN GENEALOGY OF ARTHUR

From http://christophergwinn.com/arthuriana/arthurs-pedigree/, we can compare the various genealogies relating to Arthur and Geraint:

We can see that in some lines of descent, Uther if the son of Constantine, as per Geoffrey of Monmouth.  In others, Geraint is made the grandson of Constantine.

 

 

THE MYSTERIES OF AVALON: REVISED AND EXPANDED EDITION (Coming Soon!)

Mayburgh Henge, Cumbria, England

https://www.amazon.com/Mysteries-Avalon-Primer-Arthurian-Druidism/dp/1463691939

I'm beginning the revision and expansion of this volume now.  Many new interpretations of the older material will be offered, and adaptations of original blog articles that originally appeared on my SECRETS OF AVALON page will be added. When it is done, I will consider this my final say on the subject of Celtic religion and myth as it pertains to things Arthurian.

The text will be significantly simplified, as I do not intend for this to be an academic work.  The target audience are those seeking to expand their knowledge of the spiritual aspects of Arthurian legend. More speculative and intuitive in nature, THE MYSTERIES OF AVALON: REVISED AND EXPANDED EDITION aims to be a guide to magical Otherworld landscapes, personages and objects.

THE CASTING OF EXCALIBUR INTO THE LAKE: A THOROUGHLY CELTIC, NOT OSSETIAN STORY

 

Before I withdrew from the "debate" on things Arthurian with Dr. Linda Malcor and her supporters, I had dared state that her one and only strong argument in favor of the Sarmatian influence supposedly present in the romance literature - the one linking the story of the tossing of Excalibur into the lake with another sword deposition found in Ossetic folklore - was, in fact, no argument at all. As her other "proofs" of Sarmato-Alanic origin for Arthurian motifs rely upon gross errors in linguistics and distorted historical/archaeological sequences, the sword-lake tale took on a supreme importance in her overall theory.  Although I had dealt with the Celtic elements of the episode in some depth before (see https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/07/king-arthurs-sword-excalibur-lightning.html), and had gone so far as to begrudgingly concede that a late, Continental romance writer may have had access to a folk motif similar to that of the Batraz story and had cleverly applied it to the Arthurian context, I had never bothered to do a true, comparative-contrast treatment of the two stories.  It is to remedy that oversight that I offer the current blog article.  

To begin, let's discuss the beginning of the Vulgate version (https://books.google.com/books/about/Lancelot_Grail_The_death_of_Arthur.html?id=d-jFvu5lp8EC:

24. The Death of Arthur (Lancelot-Grail, Vol. 7, tr. Norris J. Lacy):

[Arthur:] "Where will you find any man who will use you as well as I have, unless you fall into the hands of Lancelot? Oh! Lancelot, most worthy man and best knight in the world, may it please Jesus Christ that you have this sword and that I know you have it!..."

Then the king called Girflet and said to him, "Go to that hill, where you will find a lake; and throw my sword into it, for I want it to disappear from this kingdom, so that it won't fall into evil hands."

"Sir," he replied, "I'll do your bidding, but I would much prefer, if it please you, that you give it to me instead."

"I won't do that," said the king, "for you would not use it properly."

Then Girflet climbed the hill, and when he came to the lake, he drew the sword from the sheath and began to look at it. And it seemed to him so good and so beautiful that he thought it would be a great pity to throw it into the lake as the king...

As is well known, Girflet is an Old French attempt at Welsh Gilfaethwy, a hero of the MABINOGION.  I have elsewhere discussed the probable etymology of his name and his association with the 'druidic' isle of Anglesey, with its lake of sacred votive deposits (again see https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2020/07/king-arthurs-sword-excalibur-lightning.html).  

The emphasis on Lancelot in this passage is critical to our understanding of the hidden, sacred nature of the story.  For Lancelot's origin lay in the lake, and he was called 'of the Lake.'  The name/epithet Lancelot of the Lake does not, as Malcor has always claimed, derive from a French version of Alan (itself of Breton name wrongly linked to the Alanic tribe).  It is, instead, transparently (as can be shown through a step progression from Irish and Welsh) from Llwch (W. form of the god Lugh) + Llaw-caled (Ir. Lamh-calad) for "Lugh of the Strong-hand." By saying he wants Lancelot to have the sword, and then casting the weapon into the lake, he is, in effect, giving the precious item to the god of the lake.

We should recall that Arthur's sword came from the lake originally.  It was thus appropriate that it be returned to the same place.  

As for the remainder of the Vulgate account:

The salient points of this account is the triple motif (absent in the Ossetian story), which is classically Celtic.  The double deception on Girflet's part, which brings about the triple attempt to cast away the sword, makes the act especially holy.  Also, the sword is being removed from inferior men, who would use it for ill.  And the sword is a temptation to anyone who is fortunate enough to handle it or even gaze upon it, for it represents the sovereign power of the wielder.  We have, finally, the appearance of the Lady of the Lake, reclaiming the sword for her watery depths. Presumably, it will be given to Lugh.

We now put alongside the Vulgate sword-deposition story that belonging to the Ossetic tradition:

[https://www.scribd.com/book/352426447/Tales-of-the-Narts-Ancient-Myths-and-Legends-of-the-Ossetians]

Finally a small portion of them was left alive, and they beseeched Batraz not to

drive the Nart race to extinction and to offer some chance for them to escape from

his attack. Then Batraz showed mercy toward them and answered that after having

inflicted such misery on them it was enough and that he would die. But up until

that time he had not been able to die because his sword Dzus-qara had not been

thrown away into the sea. He said that he was fated to die only in that way. Other-

wise he would live and bring death upon them until they were all exterminated.

Again, the Narts were in misery. How were they to throw the sword of Batraz

into the sea? They decided to speak as though they had already done so, to per-

suade him that the sword was already thrown into the sea and that the time for him

to die had come. The Narts went and said to sick Batraz, with varying assurances,

that his sword had been thrown away and that the end of his life had come. Batraz

asked them what they had seen when they had thrown the sword away. The Narts

finally answered that nothing special had happened to the sea.

“Thus you must know,” said Batraz, “the sword Dzus-qara has not been thrown

into the sea; otherwise you would have seen several miracles.”

Upon these words of Batraz, the Narts hastened with all their strength and

might to carry out the wish of Batraz. With the help of the few thousand still living

they dragged Batraz’s sword to the shore and threw it into the sea. When the sword

was cast away a great storm rose up and the water erupted into waves. The sea it-

self began to boil and took on the color of blood. The Narts were astonished by

these miracles and their gladness was boundless. They went and related to Batraz

what they had seen. He, persuaded of their truth, at last give up his spirit, after

which it was easy for the Narts to give his remains to the earth.

Firstly, as I have previously explained, there is no possible philological relationship between the names Batraz and Bedwyr (who replaces Girflet in the Stanzaic Morte Arthur and Malory).  Any supposed resemblance of the two names is purely coincidental.

We have a difference right away: it is not a lake the sword is cast into, but the sea.  And the motivation for the respective actions are totally unrelated.  In the Batraz tale, the sword must be gotten rid of before the hero himself can die.  The deception is present, due the reluctance of the Narts to lose the sword.  But the triple motif is absent.  What happens when Batraz's sword is cast into the sea bears no resemblance to what happens when Excalibur is deposited into the lake.  Batraz dies on the spot when his sword has vanished beneath the waves, while Arthur is ferried away to the Isle of Avalon to be healed of his wounds by his sister Morgan.

As far as I can tell, then, the only similarity between these two accounts is that a wounded or soon to be dead hero has someone cast his valuable sword into a body of water.  Now this may well be deemed a motif common to the Arthurian and Ossetic traditions.  But the problem we always have in these kinds of cases is how to determine transmission.  If such transmission can't be demonstrated or seems counter to other evidence or even good argument, then we must allow for the very real possibility that we are dealing with an archetype, i.e. a mythological or folkloristic element that arose independently in two separate cultures.  These occur rather frequently and are due to the identical structure and functioning of the human brain, our shared perception/experience of the world and the uncannily similar belief systems we develop.  

My examination of the two sword deposition stories leads me to believe that they are, in fact, not related through transmission.  We merely have an instance in which two different cultures both had relics in their tradition of the ancient, ritual deposition of weapons in bodies of water.  We know the Celts did this, as we have numerous archaeological examples of such a practice.  I have not studied whether there is evidence of such votive depositions being made by the Sarmatians or related tribes, but I have little doubt that some research might well reveal this to be the case.